Tuesday, April 19, 2016

10 Simple Things You Can Do To Improve Pennsylvania’s Environment

April 22 marks the 46th anniversary of Earth Day. To celebrate, here are 10 simple things every Pennsylvanian can do to to protect the environment and your health—

-- Plant A Tree. Each tree planted not only adds beauty, but also contributes to solving the global climate-change problem by eliminating 200 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, reduces energy use for air conditioning and heating and increases property values in neighborhoods. Learn More: Penn State Extension: Backyard Trees, Windbreaks & Shade Trees; TreeVitalize PA; PA Horticultural Society Plant One Million Trees webpage.

-- Replace Your Vehicle Gas Cap. If the gas cap on your car or truck is loose, you lose 4.5 gallons of gasoline to evaporation every year. If your gas cap is more than five years old, replace it.

-- Install LED Or Compact Fluorescent Bulbs. If every household in Pennsylvania replaced one 100-watt old-style incandescent light bulb with a 27-watt compact fluorescent light bulb, we could save 800 million kilowatt hours of electricity and up to $44 million a year. This would eliminate the need for about 250 megawatts of power generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 631,750 tons of carbon dioxide. LED bulbs use even less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 25 times longer. Learn More: DEP’s Saving Energy webpage for more ideas or contact your local electric utility for the availability of incentives for replacing light bulbs or for other energy savings programs.

-- Do A Radon Test At Home. High levels of radon have been detected in all 67 Pennsylvania

counties. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Do-it-yourself, short-term charcoal canister tests are available at most hardware and home-improvement stores. Learn More: DEP’s Radon webpage for more information.

-- Compost. Did you know 20 percent of the yard and other waste you produce could be composted? Learn More: Penn State Extension Backyard Composting or the PA Resources Council Composting webpage.

-- Budget Water Use. Develop a "water budget" for your home, business or community to understand how water is being used. Plans like this help assure that water supplies are available and the protection of aquatic life. Learn More: Penn State Extension: Saving Water In The Home webpage.

-- Recycle Oil. If you are a do-it-yourself oil changer, do yourself and the environment a favor: Recycle used oil. Just one quart of oil can contaminate up to 250,000 gallons of water or cause an oil slick almost 2 acres in size. Learn More About Recycling: DEP’s Waste Oil Program webpage.

-- Buy Recycled. Close the recycling loop by asking for and buying products that are made from recycled waste products.

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the CBF-PA webpage. Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column). Click Here for a copy of CBF-PA’s most recent newsletter.

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About Me

This Blog is a companion to www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com, the weekly online newsletter published by Crisci Associates, Harrisburg, PA.
I can be contacted at 717-576-0420 or by sending email to: DHess@CrisciAssociates.com.
I served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 2001 to 2003, Executive Deputy at DEP from 1995 to 2001, as staff to the PA Senate Environmental Committee and various positions in the former Department of Environmental Resources, working on environmental issues for nearly 40 years.